STAR TREK: Orb of Destiny
by Man of Trek Lore
Summary: In the 15th Century, a mysterious group of demons set out to loot, pillage and plunder, as they seek to alter the destiny of a small nation. In the 25th Century, one starship must set right what once went wrong... but someone ELSE has other plans.
1. Intro: Displacement

**Lord Kuroda snarled…**

…as Kobayashi knelt before the general. The young boy set his sword next to him as he raised his eyes to his military leader, who just glowered at him with the utmost distain for him. Kuroda considered the young boy, around his late teens or so, who wore his hair in the traditional high tail, his garments that of his personal honor guard, not knowing why he hated the boy so much. It might've been Mayuki, who Kuroda knew Kobayashi had a huge interest in. He knew this to be true – his personal shinobi had spotted the two intimately on more than one occasion. He didn't like that he trusted his life to someone who was putting his own body parts inside of his own flesh and blood daughter.

Yet, Kobayashi was the best of the best.

"My Lord," Kobayashi began, obviously not aware that Lord Kuroda knew all about the boy's messy affair with the general's daughter. "We were successful."

"Then, it has been found?"

"It has," Kobayashi said. "My best men have found it, guarded by demons. But, they were easily vanquished."

"Demons, you say?" Kuroda said, intrigued by the boy's claim. "Tell me more about these… demons."

"They were grotesque in appearance," Kobayashi reported. "With huge bones in their heads. They took the form of men, and had fierce blades. But we were successful in destroying their stronghold, where they guarded the cave in the mountains. After they were defeated, we accomplished our mission, and have returned with great honor."

"I see," Kuroda said, as he started to smile. He was beginning to become proud of this boy – he didn't expect that. Kuroda rose from his makeshift throne, and placed a hand on the boy's shoulder. "You have surprised me and have done well. You shall attend me at dinner tomorrow, in my house. Be there at sundown."

"I shall, my Lord." With that, Kobayashi rose to his feet, and quickly departed the chamber, leaving Kuroda to reconsider his position on the boy.

The village of Yamakeshiki was quiet at this time of night. The streets were empty, save for a few bums who couldn't find a place to go for the night, and some insects and animals in the trees. The sweet smell of the clean air seemed to reinvigorate Kobayashi as he skittered through the streets. Behind a closed restaurant, Kobayashi found the man of the hour, the man who found the item that Lord Kuroda was looking for. Kobayashi stopped to consider the slightly older man, who wore his hair tied back, sporting a plain blue yukata, with his sword at his side. "You fought well today, Riyoji-san," Kobayashi praised. "I applaud you."

This Riyoji man, who said he came from the Yamaguchi province, bowed slightly. "I trust the report was well received?" Riyoji inquired.

"It was," Kobayashi said with a smile. "You can be assured that your name will sound prominently in my report."

"You honor me," Riyoji said.

"It is I who is honored to have such a fine samurai to fight at my side," Kobayashi said. The young, but brilliant soldier, put a hand on Riyoji's shoulder. "Won't you share a drink with me?"

Riyoji shook his head ever so slightly. "Tonight, I sleep. I have a feeling that Lord Kuroda will have more use for us before this week is out."

"No doubt," Kobayashi agreed. "Well, my friend. Rest well."

"As with you, Ken-san."

Kobayashi considered the brave warrior who fought well, indeed, today. He had never been more proud of a mercenary before, and clearly, this Riyoji was one of the best. The demons at the cave stood no chance against this man. Indeed, he was a force to be reckoned with.

As Kobayashi dodged a few people, he came upon a small house near the village walls. The small single house, which was in back of a much larger, yet still poor-looking house, had one dimly lit torch still burning. Kobayashi quietly came to this small house's door, slowly removing his cloth belt and sword. He quietly placed them under his arm, and slid the door open. Removing his sandals, Kobayashi gently set the swords on the floor, before stepping on the interior laid out in tatami. There, in a futon on the floor, not-quite wrapped in a silk robe, was Mayuki, the most beautiful woman Kobayashi had ever laid eyes on.

As Mayuki sat up, her robe falling off of her, she smiled at Kobayashi with the most welcoming of smiles. "I have been waiting here for you all night, My Love," she said in the most angelic voice. "Come, make love to me."

That was all Kobayashi needed to hear.

"Riyoji," as he was called, slowly made his way into the citadel walls, where the soldiers of the honor guard welcomed him. They saluted him with reverence, and allowed him to pass. Inside of the greeting hall, which was lined with a red carpet that led to two huge doors, Riyoji only traveled half-way. There, he found another set of doors to one side of the hallway, where two guards saluted him, and also, allowed him to enter the room.

Riyoji entered and gently closed the door. Inside of this dimly lit room was nothing but an almost empty space, where only a single statue of a long-dead warrior sat square in the middle. Behind the statue was another door, which Riyoji entered. When inside, he gently closed the door.

Riyoji reached inside of his robe, and found an item on his person that he was looking for. Withdrawing what looked to be a palm-sized thing with a glossy black surface, Riyoji stood in front of a box. He gently placed a finger on the black surface, and the thing suddenly lit up, with what appeared to be readouts of some sort.

As he looked at the device in his hand, Riyoji stroked his chin, as he normally did when scanning something with a tricorder. The readings of the box that sat upon an altar started to spike – just like the briefings said it would.

It was confirmed.

He reached inside of the robe, and was able to find a combadge attached to an undershirt underneath the robe, well hidden and out of view. With a chirp, he called out softly, "Hamasaki to _Enterprise_."

"_Tuvok here._"

_Glad to hear your voice, Captain_, Hamasaki thought as he reported. "It's confirmed. The item we were sent to retrieve _is_ the Bajoran orb."

"_Good work, Lieutenant,_" Tuvok said over the comm. "_Are you clear to return to the ship_?"

"Not yet," Hamasaki said. "The guards will become suspicious. Besides that, we've got yet another problem, Sir."

"_I understand_," Tuvok answered. "_Keep updating regularly and see what else you can find._"

"Understood, Captain," Hamasaki obeyed. "I'll send you what data I can. I can't risk beaming up the orb just yet."

"_Agreed_," Tuvok replied. "_Concentrate on your current task. We will analyze your data up here._"

"Aye, Captain."

"_Tuvok out._"

Without much pause, Hamasaki uploaded his information to _Enterprise_'s central computer. Once the upload was complete, Hamasaki stowed the tricorder away, and hid his combadge again. He was able to leave the citadel with no problems at all, in fact the guards continued to show him reverence. He must've fought well today in their eyes, Hamasaki figured. But his stomach told him otherwise.

**Stardate 2408.77**

It was a most crushing blow; most humiliating. Hamasaki found himself on the floor, looking up at the sensei, whom appeared fierce in the eyes. However, his fierceness turned to kindness as he help up Hamasaki. The two faced each other, and bowed, respectfully. "You are doing well," said the shorter figure, a Chinese man who spoke rough English. "But you have yet to learn the basic principles of these lessons."

Hamasaki was frustrated with being defeated as it was. He didn't want to hear this from his sensei. He sighed and was about to rebuke what the sensei was saying, but the sensei stopped him before he could speak.

"What you are missing is a sense of self," sensei told Hamasaki. "If you are to master the art of Jeet Kun Do, you must first master the sense of self. The awareness of yourself in all that you do."

"I _am_ alive and breathing," Hamasaki said. "I realize this. Is that not enough, Master Lee?"

Master Lee shook his head, holding up a single finger. "If you cannot move beyond the obvious, you will be unable to defeat your most dangerous foe."

"I've taken down difficult enemies before—"

"No no no," Master Lee said. "I mean your absolute worst enemy. Yourself."

"But you just said that I need to be aware of myself," Hamasaki said in rebuttal.

Master Lee almost gave up. "When will you ever learn?"

Something that didn't match up in the program startled Hamasaki. The familiar call of a comm call, and some enlisted guy calling for him. "_Bridge to holodeck three."_

Hamasaki sighed, more frustrated than ever. "Go ahead."

"_Your presence is required on the bridge, Sir_," said the comm voice.  
Another sigh. "I'm on my way. Computer, end program."

The visage of Master Lee vanished. Hamasaki didn't quite like the idea of a surrounding when training – a fighting mat and the sensei was all that he required. When the program ended, Hamasaki headed into the passageway, and to where he was summoned.

**First Officer's Log, Stardate 2408.77;**

**The **_**Enterprise**_** has arrived in orbit of Mejia Three, a planet on the far side of Klingon Space, where we're awaiting the return of Captain Tuvok and the mysterious Bajoran Orb the Klingon Clerics have discovered in one of their sacred temples.**

Commander Harry Kim stood in the transporter room of the _Enterprise_, NCC-1701-F, as the transporter chief energized the pattern buffers. On the transporter pad, two humanoid figures materialized as well as a crate on the center cargo receiving pad. One of the forms solidified into Captain Tuvok, and the other being that of an old Klingon priest. Kim stroked his short graying beard as Tuvok, who seemed to have not aged a single day verses his comrade from _Voyager_, stepped off of the transporter pad. "Commander," Tuvok began, "this is High Priest Nek'var. Your Highness, this is Commander Harry Kim."

"An honor to meet you, Commander," the old Klingon said to Kim. "We have much to discuss about this strange device."

"It seem so," Kim said. "Captain, Bajor's been informed that we have the orb aboard, and they're ready and waiting for us to return."

"Understood," Tuvok ordered. The Vulcan captain hit his combadge. "Tuvok to bridge."

"_Hamasaki here, sir._"

"Mister Hamasaki, set course for Bajor, slipstream velocities."

"_Acknowledged, Captain._"

Not too much later, _Enterprise_ was away in slipstream, headed for Bajor, which was clear across the vast expanse of Klingon Space.

Tuvok had called the senior staff in for a briefing in the observation lounge, located just behind the bridge. On the inboard side of the lounge, Nek'var considered the many incarnations of the ship called _Enterprise_. From a small saucered ship with two nacelles, to Kirk's ship with its bulky aerodynamic nacelles, Nek'var was astonished at the models. Hamasaki took a seat directly across from Kim, who considered the Klingon priest with great admiration. "Fascinating," Nek'var gasped as he viewed the models. "And all these ships carried the same name?"

"Indeed," Kim confirmed.

"I recognize _this_ particular ship," Nek'var said, pointing to Kirk's _Enterprise_. "Kirk did a great service to the Klingon Empire by destroying the Romulan _p'tagHs_ who destroyed almost fifty of our finest ships. I was just a small boy when I heard the tale of how Kirk destroyed what we could not. Not a day went by that a Klingon warrior of the day would wish to face Kirk in battle. He was a great warrior."

"He was one of our finest Captains," Hamasaki said.

"As our scrolls would say, it was his destiny," Nek'var said, as he returned to the meeting table and three officers that joined him so far. "What if I were to tell you that in the blink of an eye, this orb can, literally, change fate? It is witchcraft."

"What some consider to be 'witchcraft,'" Tuvok began, "others consider science. Given the nature of these orbs, I find it logical that they can perform _illogical_ deeds."

"Indeed, Captain," Nek'var said. "It _is_ illogical. Nevertheless, there it is."

"Indeed," Tuvok agreed.

"We found it," Nek'var explained, "when a G'ridian trader presented the orb in a solid gold crate. We examined the crate and determined the crate to be of more value than the orb inside. Then, four of my best warriors simply vanished as though they never existed. Reports suggest that they were found dead back on our homeworld, killed twenty years before hand. Again, I claim it to be witchcraft."

"Certainly sounds that way," Hamasaki said from next to the first officer.

"Sounds like the orb of time," Kim recalled. "Over ten years ago, a Bajoran orb sent the USS _Defiant_ back in time."

"If that were the case," Tuvok suggested, "it would be logical to assume that we would be living in an alternate reality. However, since the memories of those warriors still exist, it is my conclusion that it is not a space-time manipulation orb, but rather and more fundamentally speaking, an orb that manipulates the outcomes of individual lives, and quite possibly, civilizations."

"I agree with High Priest Nek'var," Hamasaki said. "Sounds like witchcraft to me."  
"Your conclusion is close," Tuvok said. "But not likely.

"Once we get the orb to the vedics on Bajor, they'll know what to do with it," Kim said.

"Agreed," Tuvok said with a nod. "This is, undoubtedly, a curious situation. Mister Kim, please contact Kai Rayne and inform her we are on our way with the orb."

"Aye Captain," Kim said.

"If there is nothing further," Tuvok said, rising. "You are all dismissed."

Kim and Hamasaki left the observation lounge, Nek'var stayed behind, considering the ships called _Enterprise_. Destiny, the elder Klingon thought to himself. If things were changed ever so slightly, "Just a tiny grain of sand could be moved, and an entire empire could be brought to its knees."

"Perhaps," Tuvok said.

Just as Tuvok turned to face the elder Klingon, the entire ship seemed to rock with a fierceness never felt before. Tuvok and Nek'var stumbled onto the bridge of the _Enterprise_, which was in and of itself, much larger than the previous ship of the same name. The massive command center was circular, with stations on all bulkheads. On the lower level of the bridge, there were holographic stations that displayed various schematics and systems readouts. On the main viewscreen, the familiar cool blue of slipstream turned red with anger, literally, as _Enterprise_ soared forth through the tunnel.

As Tuvok made it to the command chair to sit in a stable setting, he took command of his personal faculties and took control of the situation. "Report."

"Subspace turbulence," Lieutenant Delen'n, a Viidian and chief engineer, reported from his station. "Deflector's having trouble adjusting for the variations of the subspace waves."

"Structural integrity is holding," Hamasaki reported from his station. "The turbulence seems to be happening outside of subspace. Almost as though the slipstream, itself, is protecting us against whatever's going on out there."

However, as quickly as it began, the rattling and rolling stopped. The slipstream outside turned back to the cool blue it was intended to be, and _Enterprise_ continued on, as though the turbulence never happened.

A moment of pause overcame the entire crew, as they looked around in silence. Confusion and bewilderment became of them all, as what had seemed to rip the ship apart suddenly ended. Perhaps the deflectors readjusted for the turbulence? It was worth a look.

Delen'n did so with due vigilance. He checked the deflector and the inegrity of the slipstream itself. He found nothing of interest, and he reported so.

"Tuvok to sickbay," Tuvok inquired. There was a pause, but nothing. "Doctor Keller, please respond."

Still nothing.

"Bridge to sickbay, is anyone there?" Kim wondered.

Meanwhile, everything was a total mess. The turbulence had knocked everything around, vials had crashed into the bulkhead. Systems blinked in and out. More casualties arose when life support to the surgical chamber quit for just long enough to lose a patient. Doctor Keller heard the call, but she couldn't respond right away.

As she crossed the sickbay, a shrill whine from behind a bulkhead started to charge. The chaos in the sickbay was so intense that she didn't even have time to react to the explosion, that killed half of her staff, and a third of the patients helpless on biobeds.

When _Enterprise_ came out of the turbulence, even more chaos was abound. Nurse Blackman moved a piece of debris from atop of Doctor Keller, who was clearly crushed like a bug. He wasn't too qualified to run the sickbay; he was just a corpsman. The enlisted nurse looked around in confusion, seeing the dead as they piled upon themselves. Dammit, he thought. There wasn't much he could do.

The bridge's call echoed again. Should he answer? They needed structure.

"Computer," Blackman called out. The computer acknowledged him. "Activate the Emergency Medical Hologram."

A moment later, the EMH activated. By automation, the moment he appeared, the EMH said, "Please state the nature of the... my God, what's happened?"

"Hell," Blackman simply said. "We lost our CMO in the turbulence."

"I see," the EMH said. He looked around and found a small case on the bulkhead. The Doctor tapped in a code, and opened the case. Inside was a small device that he strapped to his shoulder. "Computer, transfer the EMH to the mobile emitter."

The Doctor fizzed out and back in, as the computer replied, "Transfer complete."

Again, the bridge called again. "Go ahead, bridge," the Doctor said.

"_Doctor_," Tuvok's comm voice said. "_I take it that Doctor Keller is no longer with us._"

"Indeed," the EMH said.

"_What is your current status?_"

"I'm conducting triage right now," the EMH said, just as the holoemitters in the bulkhead exploded. "Thank goodness for my mobile emitter."

"_We are almost to Bajor_," Tuvok reported. "_Once we arrive, we will dock at DS9 and you will have assistance._"

"Much appreciated," the Doctor said.

Meanwhile, Hamasaki was having some trouble. "Captain," he said. "I'm having a hard time raising DS9."

"Try the Emergency Starfleet Channel," Tuvok ordered.

Hamasaki did so. Still a buzz. "Nothing," he reported. "Could it be that the subspace interference knocked out our transceiver?"

"Mister Chapman," Tuvok called to the starboard ops station. A young blond woman looked up from her station, as she turned to the captain. "Run a level one diagnostic on the transceiver array."

As Lieutenant Sarah Chapman did so, she came to the realization that she didn't find anything out of the ordinary. "Systems show it's at one-hundred percent, Captain."

"I'll try the ESC again," Hamasaki said, doing so. Once again, he got a dull buzz. "Nothing, Sir."

"Captain," called the helmsman, an enlisted man by the name of Petty Officer Ripley. "We're approaching Bajor."

Tuvok and Kim nodded to each other, and returned to their stations. "All sections," Kim called on the intercom, "prepare to transition to normal space."

Doing so, Chapman and Ripley worked together to make sure _Enterprise_ didn't fly apart. "Sublight in four," Ripley counted down. "Three. Two..."

With a slight flash on the screen, _Enterprise_ dropped to sublight, approaching a tiny blue and white sphere in the center of the viewscreen. After everyone checked their stations, Chapman made the call. "All systems secure from slipstream, Captain."

"Very well, Lieutenant," Tuvok said. "Helm, standard orbit."

"Aye Sir," Ripley said as he maneuvered the controls on his console.

Something was odd, Hamasaki thought as he looked at Bajor on the viewscreen. Something didn't seem right. A few stars were off grid. And something else; the world was a lighter shade of blue than Bajor. "Captain, if I may?" Hamasaki suddenly asked. Tuvok simply nodded, and Hamasaki stepped into the middle of the bridge. "Lieutenant Chapman, deactivate the viewscreen, if you please?"

The viewscreen shut down, revealing the forward viewport behind it. Sure enough, it wasn't a visual sensor problem; the world was a lighter shade of blue than Bajor. In fact, the planet didn't have much, if any, industrial pollutants in its atmosphere. If one were seeing Bajor from afar, one would realize how blue the oceans were simply because of Bajor's industrial cleansing technologies; evidence of artificial atmospheric processing.

This world had none. This was _not_ Bajor.

"Fixate our position, Mister Ripley," Hamasaki ordered. As PO Ripley did so, he asked for another point of reference. "In reference to Galactic Center." Ripley did so, and pointed at something to Hamasaki that he didn't like. In return, Hamasaki turned to Tuvok. "Captain, we're over three hundred light years from where we're supposed to be."

Tuvok's interest was peaked. "At that distance, that would put us somewhere around Alpha Centauri, would it not?"

"We're about four light years from that point," Ripley said.

Kim stood straight up. "_Earth_?"

"Reactivating viewscreen," Ripley said. Once he did so, he magnified the view and sure enough; Earth. But, something else was odd. Ripley ran a quick scan of the area. "Captain, I'm not picking up any navigational bouies. No subspace traffic as far out as Vulcan."

"Witchcraft," was all Nek'var could manage to say, from the back of the bridge. "Witchcraft."

"Wait a minute," Chapman stopped as she scanned the surface. "Captain, I'm picking up something coming from the northern hemisphere, in Asia. Something seriously out of place."

"What is it?" Kim wondered.

"It's a subspace transceiver," Chapman said. "It doesn't seem to be active, but it's there. And Sir? You're not gonna like this."

They already didn't like it. Nothing was going to make them like the situation any less than it already sucked.

_**To Be Continued...**_


	2. Part 01: Demons and Legends

**Sunrise, just Three Days Later...**

Kobayashi sheathed his sword, and fastened his belt around his waist. He considered the naked girl on his futon, who simply groaned with a smile upon her face, as she turned over. She opened her eyes, and beheld her lover, as he donned his _yukata_, and secured his sword to his side. "My love," she said with a sweet voice, "to where are your journeys taking you today?"

Kobayashi sighed as he secured his feet in his clogs. "We are scouting west into the mountains," he said. He took another moment to consider his woman, allowing for her beauty to burn into his mind. The word had been spread to all creation, that Lord Kuroda would want to explore the mountains where these demons live. Of course, Kobayashi would comply, as he sought to please Lord Kuroda, for after all, he did make love to the Lord's daughter every night.

As Kobayashi said goodbye to Mayuki, he took one last time to consider her. He burned her image into his mind as he left the small hut, just as snow began to fall onto the ground on this very cold day. Awaiting Kobayashi was not only the snow, but Riyoji, who was also prepared for a long journey, swords at his side. "I trust you have rested well this morning?" Kobayashi greeted.

Riyoji simply bowed his head. "Restful and peaceful."

"There shall be no peace any longer, my mighty friend," Kobayashi said, as he smacked Riyoji in his back as a friendly gesture. "For today, we slay."

"I look forward to bringing honor and glory to Lord Kuroda anyway I can," Riyoji said.

"That's good to hear. We may not come back alive from this one," Kobayashi said. "But, with all due haste, let's dispatch these creatures and return, shall we?"

Riyoji nodded in response.

"Let's head out then," Kobayashi said, with Riyoji taking the lead. "Our men are waiting."

The camp was just outside of the city, where Kobayashi's men were awaiting their general. When Takagi, a young but trusted warrior, came to Kobayashi, he saluted and then asked for orders. "Tell the men," Kobayashi told Takagi. "It's time."

"At once, Kobayashi-_dono_."

Within moments of receiving the orders, Kobayashi's men was able to take down the camp, pack up their travel packs, and form-up in ranks. Takagi lead the ranks into the mountains, while Kobayashi and Riyoji stayed behind the ranks, well protected, just in case.

As the sun began to rise high, and the snow began to melt, the legion had entered a river valley, which Kobayashi recognized from their mission before hand. The sun was shining, the birds were singing, and it was just a beautiful day. A day that would turn out to be much more unpleasant for those disgusting demons in the mountains above.

"So," Kobayashi said to Riyoji as they marched forth, "what do you think of our little kingdom?"

"Yamakeshiki's quite a nice town," Riyoji said, simply. "In my travels, I have not since seen in a nicer town."

"From which land do you hail?"

"Chikuzen," Riyoji said. "I grew up there, and learned to fight from the best."

"They taught you well," Kobayashi praised. "I was raised in Yamato, learned to fight there and learned to love. When I began serving Lord Kuroda, he showed me the greatness that is the Aki Province. It was, after all, where I would call home for probably the rest of my life."

"I see," Riyoji said. "I couldn't settle in one place. I would have to live and move on."

"You go by your first name," Kobayashi noticed. "What is your family name?"

"Hamasaki," Riyoji said.

"I'm not too familiar with it."

"It's quite alright," Riyoji said. "We keep to ourselves."

"Naturally," Kobayashi said with a smile. "That's how you make such a fine warrior. I envy that."

Riyoji simply shrugged. "It's nothing special."

As they forged ahead, they came upon a burnt village. There were only a few scattered survivors, mostly mothers cradling their dead children and husbands. Some of them were burnt beyond recognition. It made Riyoji's stomach churn just slightly, but he tried to show little to no emotion. It was a trait that Kobayashi also envied, as he saw the mighty warrior keep his cool. Kobayashi called for Takagi, who quickly came to him. "Scatter about the men, and see if you can determine what has happened here."

"At once," Takagi said. The small man scattered away, just as he was ordered.

That was when Riyoji saw her; a young woman in her twenties, over the dead body of her children. Riyoji placed a hand on the crying girl's shoulder. She looked up at him, eyes filled with tears. "They came from hell itself," she said through heavy sobs. "Fierce demons with blades of steel. My husband and my brother fought them bravely, but they were no match for their supernatural skills. When the demons were through with them, they finished the village." Immediately, the girl went back to crying over her dead family.

Riyoji outwardly became enraged. Inwardly, he realized, that there was nothing he could've done.

***

Hamasaki stepped away from the crying girl, and immediately found Kobayashi standing near a still burning hut. Kobayashi turned to Hamasaki and snarled. "Those demons will pay. This was a school. Their dishonor shall be their hell."

"I'm going to go see if I can find any more answers, especially where these demons ran off to," Hamasaki told Kobayashi. When Kobayashi let him go, Hamasaki broke away from the main party, secretly running to the outskirts of the village. From under his robe, he drew his tricorder and began scanning the area. Surely enough, there was plenty of evidence around to suggest how the attackers snuck-up on the village guards. "Hamasaki to _Enterprise_."

"_Tuvok here._"

"This place is flooded with transporter signatures," Hamasaki reported. "Can we do a reverse trace on their confinement beam?"

"_Stand by,_" Tuvok ordered.

As Hamasaki continued to scan, the tricorder came alive. He found something that didn't belong here at all. A life sign. It was what he expected, but he didn't expect it to still be here.

Slowly, Hamasaki reached into his robe, and removed a small hand phaser. Quietly, he whispered, "_Enterprise_. I'm not alone."

Hamasaki came around the back of a burned-down hut, and stepped inside. The char and the smell of burnt flesh stung his nose, as he looked around.

A growl. A hideous growl.

Without much effort, Hamasaki swung around, firing his hand phaser. The beam hit the creature, humanoid in appearance, and it fell. Quickly, Hamasaki put the hand phaser away, and gripped the unconscious body of the "demon" to drag it out.

Kobayashi heard the growl, as did Takagi. They turned quickly to a burnt down house, and ran towards it, swords drawn. As they rushed the entrance, the entire house seemed to lightning with a redish flash. Kobayashi and Takagi stopped cold, fear overcoming them.

A moment later, Riyoji emerged, unconscious demon in hand. He exposed the demon to sunlight, and it didn't melt away. Strange, Kobayashi thought. Its form was disgusting; man-like, but with some strange pertruding bones in his forehead. Teeth sharp like knives as its grimace spread across its face.

Kobayashi was astonished at Riyoji. He couldn't imagine what it must've been like inside of that debris, fighting this demon from hell, and winning the day. After all the stories of the brave who had come before them, who had stepped up and fought, and lost their lives, fighting these creatures, here's Riyoji who had come down and defeated one. Kobayashi was proud.

Riyoji pointed. "It still lives. Lord Kuroda will be well pleased."

Kobayashi lifted his eyebrows, knowing full well that Riyoji was right. This was his chance to win his lord's favor. He wanted to take it. "You are right, my friend," Kobayashi said with a smile. "We'll take it back with us and present it to Lord Kuroda. He will give us all honor and glory."

"Indeed," Riyoji said. He called for Takagi to help him bind the creature.

Kobayashi smiled inwardly, but kept a straight face outwardly, as, after a long trek back to Lord Kuroda's state room, Riyoji and Takagi hauled in the now half-conscious demonic creature from beyond hell. Kuroda, upon looking at the creature, slowly stood, and stepped off the elevated throne, to come face to face with one of these monsters. The demon snarled, breath reeking of death. It was here that Kuroda knew he was staring into the eyes of a true demon.

The demon lifted his eyes to stare into the cold eyes of Lord Kuroda. The demon's gaze shook Kuroda to his very core. When the demon spoke, it was in the most horrifying of voices that Lord Kuroda had ever heard. The demon's mouth gaped open, then said slowly, "jIH 'oH ghoS Daq muSHa' HoH SoH."

Lord Kuroda didn't know what it said in its hell tongue, but it was enough for him to be struck cold within his heart...


	3. Part 02: Into the Light

**Kovar opened his eyes...**

The strange, ugly and short human, who looked too pathetic to be wearing such elaborate attire, had the audacity to get in Kovar's face. The human, who reeked of an unknown odor which was strongly offensive, even for a Klingon warrior's taste, seemed to fear Kovar's deadly gaze into his eyes. How the other miniscule humans paid this fool any respect was beyond Kovar's ability to comprehend. These were not the humans Kovar knew. These humans could fight, and they stood their ground well. But in the end, they were no match for a trained Klingon warrior's blade.

Kovar knew that the human feared him so, and he was glad for it. If these humans were to show any respect to an honorable Klingon warrior, it would be through fear. However, they had dishonored Kovar, and he knew that by being bound and having allowed himself to be captured, Kovar, in his warrior's heart, knew he should be ready to die. But, as Kovar considered the area around him, he wasn't just planning an escape; he was planning a near-genocide of the people in this small, pathetic human town.

As the human squared off against Kovar, Kovar decided to make a simple gesture of terror into the human's soul. With near joy in his words, Kovar simply said to the human, "I'm going to enjoy killing you."

The human seemed to take a step back, as Kovar grinned his sharp teeth at the weak human. He watched as the human turned to another human cohort, and said unto him, "囚人を独房に連れろ！!"

"畏まりました、殿様**,"** one of the pathetic human servants answered.

The humans were able to manhandle Kovar, as his frame was still weakened by the mysterious human's particle beam blast to his chest. He knew that it didn't belong amongst these humans, so something must be up. Kovar was determined to figure out what it was, before he killed the rest of the humans in this forsaken place.

The humans put Kovar in a dark dungeon, and closed him up behind a cage. Two of the humans stayed behind – a short, pathetic looking weakling, and one who appeared to be a guard, armed with a sword at his side, speaking in a language Kovar could not understand.

"この独房は十分なの？" the weakling guard said to the stronger of the two.

"どうした？恐いの？" the stronger asked.

"鬼なのに、簡単な箱は弱い過ぎなんだぜ！"

"気にするな," said the stronger. "この鬼はどこにも行けないよ."

The frightened guard sighed as the stronger of the two departed from them. Kovar couldn't understand a single word that he heard between the two, nor did he really care. Still in bonds, dishonorably kept imprisoned, Kovar vowed that he would kill this frightened dishonorable guard first. Just to end his misery. Then, the rest will follow him to _Grethor_.

The scared guard stepped outside of the immediate area, only to be replaced by the mysterious human who had shot him with the particle beam weapon. Kovar snarled at the human, who simply considered him. However, Kovar was slightly impressed when the human closed the access door behind him, sealing himself inside with the formidable warrior. Kovar hoped for combat, or execution. Either way, he hoped. "I suppose," Kovar started to say to the human. However, he stopped, fully realizing what he was about to say. He changed this words, and said instead, "It doesn't matter. You won't understand me, anyway. Weakling human."

Kovar was startled and surprised to hear the following come from the human's mouth, in Klingon. "You'd be surprised at what this 'weakling human' truly understands."

That settled it. Kovar knew this human was special, indeed. A worthy opponent to be sure. Kovar snarled and chuckled just a little. "How is it that a lowly human commands such great power, that even you can understand me?"

The human slowly bent back a small part of his robe. That was when Kovar understood exactly what was going on. The unmistakable insignia of Starfleet glistened in the light. Kovar knew something was horribly wrong.

"Look," said the Starfleet officer. "There isn't much time. Turn around."

Kovar did as he was asked. It was then that the Starfleet officer unbound him. Kovar was now free. The human was here to help him; Kovar wouldn't dare kill an apparent ally. The warrior turned back to the human. "Do you have a starship?"

"In orbit," said the Starfleet officer. "I can get you out of here, but first you gotta tell me, what the Klingon Empire is doing in this time period."

Kovar echoed the human's words, not making much sense of what was going on. "'Time... period...'?"

The human sighed in apparent frustration. "Long story. But look, just tell me how you got here."

"We don't know," Kovar said. "One minute we were on patrol, and the next we were crashing onto this lump of rock."

The human hit his combadge. "Hamasaki to _Enterprise_."

"_Tuvok here._"

"Captain," this Hamasaki began, "I've made contact with a Klingon warrior on the surface. Prepare to beam him aboard, on my mark."

"_Understood_," Tuvok replied.

"Won't they know?" Kovar wondered, realizing what was about to happen. "Won't they know you helped me escape?"

Hamasaki simply shook his head. "To these people, you're demons. I'm simply about to have a religious experience."

Kovar understood that.

To that end, Hamasaki fell to the ground and smiled a devious smile. Kovar respected him for that. "Hamasaki to _Enterprise_. Energize."

Just as the Federation transporters seized the mighty warrior, Kovar heard the human scream in the most terrifying of ways.

Yojimbo, the young guard who awaited Riyoji outside of the holding area, rushed into said area, seeing the mighty warrior on the ground, screaming a most terrifying scream. Yojimbo looked into the cell, and saw that the demon was gone. "I knew it!" Yojimbo said. "I told Lieutenant Takagi that a simple cell wouldn't hold a demon! Are you okay, Master Riyoji?"

Riyoji collected himself, calming himself down, slowing down his heart rate. The mighty warrior allowed Yojimbo to help him to his feet. Once there, Riyoji noticed Kobayashi running into the holding area to join him. "What's happened?" Kobayashi wondered.

"The demon," Riyoji simply said. "He vanished in a plume of hellfire."

"I did, I warned Lieutenant Takagi that a simple stone cell won't hold a demon," Yojimbo said to the young commander.

Kobayashi considered the moment. Checking the cell gate, he found that it was locked, solid. Satisfied that there was only one way out for the demon, Kobayashi turned to Riyoji and checked him out. "Are you okay, my friend?"

"I am," Riyoji said, collecting his thoughts. "We should be more considerate next time. These demons are very powerful."

"Indeed," Kobayashi said. "We won't take any more prisoners. We kill or be killed."

"That's the best way," Riyoji admitted. "There's no other way."

"Let us report to Lord Kuroda," Kobayashi said. "He will not be pleased, but maybe he'll understand."

He hoped.


End file.
